BMW Claims Multiple 2012 Grand-Am Championships - Web Exclusive

The drivers shared two victories and six podium finishes.

BMW-powered racecars took multiple titles at the Grand-Am Championships’ finale this weekend. It took place at Lime Rock Park and was presented by BMW, confident in its success.

The titles included a third consecutive Driver’s Championship for Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in the Daytona Prototype class of the Rolex Sports Car Series.

Tuner Motorsport also claimed the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series Manufacturer title at the same event.

The Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas started the final 2.75-hour race with a 13pt lead in the series, meaning they only needed to place tenth or better to secure their third title. The pair drove an efficient race, finishing in seventh in the #01 TELMEX BMW/Riley. The drivers shared two victories and six podium finishes during the season to amass the points lead.

In the Rolex Grand Touring class, BMW was represented by two M3s entered by Turner Motorsport. Although both cars failed to finish the race, they had scored sufficient points during the season to take the title, including two wins in a nine-race streak in which #94 didn’t finish lower than fifth. The car was driven by Bill Auberlen, Paul Dalla Lana and Billy Johnson (in select races). The result secured Dalla Lana third place in the final GT driver standings.

The 2012 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series saw three other teams campaigning BMWs: BimmerWorld Racing, Burton Racing and RACE EPIC/Murillo Racing, which campaigned 3- and 1 Series models. All the teams combined for three wins and five podium finishes, giving BMW the Street Tuner (ST) Manufacturer Championship.

The top-finishing BMW in the 2.5-hour Lime Rock Park event this weekend was the #80 BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i driven by James Clay and John Henry Capestro-Dubets who finished sixth.

In the Grand Sport (GS) class, BMW was represented by Fall-Line Motorsports and Turner Motorsport, which had previously claimed the 2010 and 2011 GS class championships respectively. The best finishing BMW in the 2.5-hour final race was the #46 Fall-Line Motorsports M3 of Mark Boden and Bryan Sellers.

Their second place equaled the best M3 finish of the season and secured BMW second place in the GS Manufacturer point standings.